Mavericks out of Howard sweepstakes

The Dwight Howard chase took another turn on Friday with the report from espn.com that the Mavericks are out.

“We gave it a shot and it didn’t work out,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said via e-mail to ESPN Dallas. “It was truly an experience. … So it’s on to Plan B.”

The consensus had been building through the day that Howard’s top three choices were the Rockets, Lakers and Warriors. The Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks had been the other two teams to make presentations to the free-agent center.

The Warriors made another move earlier in the day — signing free agent Andre Iguodala — which left Golden State’s status unclear.

As for the Rockets, the team hasn’t acknowledged any update in their status today.